ANGLESEY JULY 10/11 PREVIEW – AVON TYRES NATIONAL FORMULA FORD CHAMPIONSHIP
The Avon Tyres National Formula Ford Championship is heating up already after three rounds and with races in England and Scotland completed, now it’s time to visit a third home nation as we visit Wales and the magnificent Anglesey circuit with the title battle starting to generate some heat.
After doing all the chasing in the first two weekends, American sensation Max Esterson was able to get himself off the mark with his first pair of race wins, managing to see off both Alex Walker and Chris Middlehurst and recover from a tense clash between himself and Walker in the second race to move himself up into the points lead. Now he’s there, his next challenge is to hold on and stay there, but with the level of competition against him, it’s certainly not going to be easy.
Walker himself has three wins to his name this season and had to really fight hard to stay in contention at Silverstone, a weekend that didn’t always go his way but certainly still allowed him enough points to remain 2nd, despite his lead being depleted and now finding himself 12 back heading to Anglesey. He’s proven that he can be dominant on his day and he’ll need to find that form again this weekend. A further 33 points back from the Kevin Mills Racing driver is Chris Middlehurst, who already has a major trophy to his name thanks to the success at Knockhill that earned him the David Leslie Trophy. His Silverstone weekend was also fruitful with a victory after a fabulous second race battling back and forth with Joey Foster and Thomas Mills and he’s looking in great form as he maintains his competitiveness going to the fourth meeting.
With Rory Smith absent as he continues his ongoing plans to contest a part season, it means BM Racing teammate Jamie Sharp can now push himself into contention by moving up to 4th place. While his results haven’t been the most spectacular, getting points on the board in every race is always key in trying to keep yourself as high as possible in the championship standings and the British F4 convert is arguably at his most competitive right now. He needs to start taking advantage of that right now in order to start making more progress. Thomas Mills has had something of a baptism of fire to begin his Formula Ford career and it’s very impressive that he already has a podium finish to his name with 3rd place at Silverstone in that thrilling second race. Thomas being the son of team boss Kevin Mills, he’s got the perfect mentor to continue his development and he’ll be sure to showcase his latest form this weekend.
Carter Williams’ return to Formula Ford after seasons in British F4 and BRDC Formula 3 has been somewhat turbulent. He’s had quite the share of bad fortune already this year after getting caught up in mistakes and incidents, but in the races where he’s been able to keep out of trouble he’s captured a few decent results. When it all comes together, his pace can be superb and he’ll want Anglesey to be a turning point for his season as the second half begins to beckon already. Joey Foster is another driver who’s only contesting selected rounds so his current 8th place will be under threat, but someone who is going to be competing is Lucas Romanek. After his incident at Silverstone, some wondered if he was going to be out of action but incredibly he’s been deemed fit to race and will be on the grid in Wales, a superb achievement for the karting graduate who is enjoying his first season in cars!
Watch out for other young up and coming drivers such as Colin Queen, Megan Gilkes, Andre Lafond and Benajmin Cochran, while Jack Wolfenden will also be on the grid once again in his 2017 vintage Firman chassis after he appeared at the opening rounds at Donington Park in May.
Scott Woodwiss
